The Georgia Straight has been an integral part of life in Vancouver B.C. for over 43 years. In addition to feature stories on everything from politics and social issues to local underground musicians and artists, every issue includes details on...

More by Shawn Conner

Not exactly a household name when Little Miss Sunshine filmmakers Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris first rang up, DeVotchKa was at that point better known for trying to make the alt-underground safe for Eastern European sounds.

Secretly I've hoped one day the band would fuse its forays into fantastical realms with something I'd want to sing in the shower, but Tears of the Valedictorian is as obtuse and determinedly awry as previous records.

Like many young musicians, Los Angeles–based beatmaker Jason Chung (aka Nosaj Thing) isn’t much more than the sum of his influences. What’s remarkable about Chung is how deftly he distills and commingles secondhand sounds.

There are singers for whom song is one thing and one thing only: a church. Alicia Keys is that kind of artist, and for those of us who still look to records for uplift, for comfort, for a soundtrack to our joy and sorrow and fumbling growth, for a way to make sense of the human experience — Alicia is our girl.